Filter tank



'.SepL 8, 1931. RE; BRESSLR TAL FILTER TANK Fired may` 17. 1929 o L. e D

Kiez:

Patented Sept. 8, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE ROBERT E. IBRESSLER, OF HAMMOND, AND DOUGLAS V. MOSES, OF EAST CHICAGO,

INDIANA, ASSIGNORS T GRAVER CORPORATION, OF EAST CHICAGO, INDIANA, A

\ CORPORATION 0F ILLINOIS FILTER TANK Application tiled May 17,

This invention relates to filter tanks and the' like, and is illustrated herein as embodied in a bottom for such a tank constructed in such a manner as to permit the escape of a 6 liquid therethrough and to prevent the cscapc of the solid matter of the filter.

It is to be pointed outat this stage that by the term filter the applicant has reference to all apparatus for containing a solid 10 substance, or solid particles, through which a liquid is passed. This being so, it is to be understood that the term applies to Water softening apparatus in which a fluid is conducted through a mass of material for the '.15 purposevof exchanging the base of the fluid for that of the material, and applies likewise to other analogous structures.

In many filter tanks, it is customary tol y provide `a bottom plate with perforations therein and to dispose on top of the plate anumber of layers of material decreasing in size upwardly away from the bottom plate. Thus, the layer 0f material that is in contact wit-h the plate is of sufficient size that the.

particles thereof cannot pass through the perforations, but it is found that quite often they enter into them and become caught in place by means of the edges of the perforations catchingupon the rough corners of the particles, thereby interfering with the flow of the li uid through the perforations. To the end o reventing the particles from catching Witlljiin the perforations it has heretofore been suggested that baffles be employed for guarding the perforations. The baflies that have heretofore been devised have, how ever, been open to several objections. In the first place, they, in most instances, interfere with the free distribution of liquid over the 40 bottom plate, and in the second place, they are constructed in such a manner that the size of the perforations, or openings, leading thereto vary and even though the variation is small the result is that the liquid tends to escape through the openings, or perforations, of greater size thereby interfering with thc proper distribution of the liquid overthe bottom plate.

V In vienT of the foregoing considerations, it

'50 is an important 'object of the present inven- 1929. Serial No. 368,803.

tion to 4)rovide an improved bottom plate having Tiailesguarding the perforations in such a manner that free and equal distribution of the liquid over the bottom plate ma take place. A feature ofthe invention whic 1 is conducive to the accomplishment of the recited obiect resides in disposing the bellies above the bottom plate in such a manner that the baiies are equally spaced from. all of .the perforationsy in the plate. This is accomplished by arranging the perforations in rows and providing a sin le battle for each row and injsupporting the atiie at suiicient points throughout its length thatit will at all times remain properly and evenly spaced from the Q. per'forations which itguards. Another feature of the invention consists in mounting the baie iny such a. manner that free flow of the liquid in all directions toward and avvay from the perforations, is procured. A still further feature of the invention consists'in providing pcrforations in the bottom plateof a certain size, which, coupled with the baffle construction, is mostl conducive to proper distribution of the liquid with relation to the bottom plate.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from a reading of the following specification in the livht of the 'accompanying drawings, in whie Figure 1 is a view partly in section ofva filter tank constructed 1n accordance with the present invention; 1 Figure 2 is a planview in section of the apparatus shown i-n Figure 1 Withthe'filtering'l substance removed therefrom; and

Figures 3, 4 and 5 are views which show lSt) ,different manners of supporting the baffle strips upon` the bottom plate.

Turning nowv to the drawings, the refer-- ence numeral l0 indicates the cylindrical shellof a water softener which comprises a bottom plate 12 having a pluralit of layers a Z1 and c of material, one of Whichls generally zeolites, disposed thereon in such a manner that the.; 95 sizeof the particles in thc different layers decreases upvvardly. Thereis provided an in? let 14 through which Water enters the bottom of the tank andflows upwardly thru the zen; lite materialk to exitjin'allly tllrough the outfil let 1.6. The successful operation of such softener-s is dependent, lo a. large extent, upon the proper operationof the bottom, or strainer plate, l2, and to the method of supporting the softening mineral thereon and distributing the incoming water completely through the strainer plate in order that the water will flow upwardly through all parts of the softening mineral instead of being concentrated in certain localities.

The strainer plate 12 isv supported by resting it in the annular recess formed at the junction of the bottom 18 of the tank with f an upwardly extending flange portion 20 thereof, and is welded to the shell throughout its entire circumference. The Jerforations' in the stramer consist of circu ar holes 'and it has been found by repeated experiment that a more proper and uniform distribution of the fluid throughout the softening mineral may be obtained by placing these holes on four-inch centers and making them less than one-half inch in diameter, it having been found that nine thirty-seconds inch orifices are extremely eicient. Thus, the Water entering through the inlet pipe 14 flows into the bottoni of the tank and engages the under side of the -bottom late whereupon, owing to the size of the ori ces therein, the Water is distributed over the entire under surface of the bottom plate and passes out approximately uniformly through all of the holes. The water passing through these holes is quickly broken up by the gravel immediately above the plate.

If the gravel, or water softening mineral, were allowed to cover thestrainer plate, the perforations would become clogged thereby interfering with the proper distribution and flow of the water through them, and similarly if baiiles were provided by securing them adjacent to the openings the free flow of Water through openings in the direction of the fastened portion ofthe baffle would be prevented and the proper distribution would be interfered with` accordingly. In view of this, the present invention contemplates constructing the battles in the manner indicated in Figure 2 in which narrow elongated strips 22'are arranged parallel to one another and cover all of the perfor-ations in the bottom plate. These strips may be supported at their ends 24, as shown in Figure 4, or by means of supporting blocks 26, Figure 3. arranged beneath adjacent baffles, or more preferably by pressing out portions 28, as shown in Figure 5, and utilizing these portions supports for the baflles. Vhen the baliles are supported in this manner, the Huid passing through the orifices from below may flow horizontally in all directions therefrom, thereby obtaining prper distribution, and furthermore the `a es allow unimpeded longitudinal flow 1n the elearspace beneath the baille plates which aresults in added uniformity of distribution of the flow of liquid into the socallcd dead areas between the openings in the perforated plates. If the gravel closes off half the flow space at the edge of the baille, the full quantity of water flowing through the apertures of plate 12 vmay still flow freely through the remaining half of the flow s )ace under the edges. In other words, the ow area under the edges is more than twice as great as the flow area of the holes, as clearly seen from the drawings. As a. matter of fact, the liow area at the edges is much larger than necessary, with the result thai the vflow is controlled solely by the size of the hole (for a given pressure) and as the holes are all the same size the flow through all of them is equal, in spite of inequality of blocking o by the gravel. This oversize outer flow area. permits the use of a smaller size and quantity of gravel. This, in turn, has the advantage of spreading the flow more uniformly along the edge of the baie strip.

Although the invention has been illustrated and described herein with particular refer ence to filters of the water softening type, it is to be clearly understood that the invention is applicable to filters of other types for per forming other operations, and furthermore, it is to be understood that from time to time certain changes and modifications in the design and construction in the illustrated embodiment may he made without departing from 'the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention what we claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent, is:

l. A filter tank, or the like, comprising,

in combination. a substantially fla-t bottom plate having a plurality of openings formed therein and a plurality of shielding baffles each arranged to guard a plurality of openings, said baflles comprising narrow elongated strips having depressed portions that are of a height proper to serve both as spacing and supporting members, and that are located at points substantially removed from said openings.

2. A tank for filters and the like compris-y ing a bottom plate having a fiat upper surface and having apertures therethrough,

each of said apertures being covered by a shielding baffle plate spaced therefrom and extending laterally beyond said openings on all sides, the spaces between said bathe plates and said bottom plates being unobstructed in the vicinity of said apertures.

3. A tank for filters and tho like comprising a bottom plate having a flat upper surface and having apertures therethrough, each of said apertures being covered by a shielding baille plate spaced therefrom and extendinelaterally beyond said openings in nearly all` directions to such an extent that the available flow area under the'edge of the leo baffle plate is at least twice as lar e as the minimum flow area through and a jacent t the apertures, the spaces hetween said baille plates and saidbottom plates being unobstructed in the vicinity of said apertures and the flow area under the said plate at the circumference of said aperture being equal to the flow arca through said aperture.

v4. A tank for filters and the like comprising in combination a bottom late having a' fiat upper surface and a plura ity of aligned apertures therethrough, and an elongated shielding baile strip covering saidv apertures, said balile strip being spaced from the portions of said bottom-plate surrounding said apertures and extending laterally beyond each of said several apertures on all sides'.

5. A tank for filters and the like Comprising in combination a bottom plate having a' fiat upper surface and a plurality of aligned small apertures of equal size therethrough,` and an elongated shielding baille strip covering said apertures, said bafile strip beingl Wider than said apertures and havlngdepressed portions spaced from said apertures andof a proper height for spacing said baiiie strip from said bottom plate, the relative size of the baille strip andthe apertures being such that the `available flow area 'underthe edge of the baille plate is at least twice as large as the minimum flow area through and adjacent to the apertures.

Signed at East Chicago, Indiana, this 9th day of May, 1929.

ROBERT E. BRESSLER. DOUGLAS V. MOSES. 

